


Shutter

by Selcric



Category: Scrubs (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23756047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selcric/pseuds/Selcric
Summary: Perry is studying at Med School while working Part-Time at a cafe to pay for his rent, and Ben is a regular at his cafe. Perry hates him.Semi-based before the show, this is sort of an exploration into their friendship and potentially something more(?).Warnings for mild language.
Relationships: Perry Cox/Ben Sullivan (Scrubs)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Shutter

**Author's Note:**

> So i haven't written fanfic in about a year, so I'm not sure how well this will be written or how long it will go on for. I just really think there's not enough appreciation for these two, and what could have potentially been a really great relationship.

His shift at The Coffee Clinic had only started 2 hours ago, but from the moment he arrived Perry knew today was yet another slow day. Maybe it was because of the creepy guy who would order one coffee then sit in the corner the entire day taking photos of people, or maybe it was just a slow day for coffee drinkers everywhere. Either way, Perry was bored.

Since his shift started, Perry had only served five customers, and split the rest of his time between pretending to clean when the manager showed his face and skimming through his book “ _Greys Anatomy for Students”_. He was studying to be a doctor – a damn good one at that – but he had to divide his time between cramming studies, writing a dissertation and working part-time at this crappy coffee place. But at least the customers were interesting.

There was an older man who’d recently retired from being a doctor, he was one of Perry’s favourites, he would stand at the till for 10 minutes at a time, whether or not there was a huge queue leading out into the street, and tell Perry horror stories about his patients. Perry loved him, of course, because he got all sorts of tips that helped with his studies. His manager on the other hand was tired of him holding up the entire store every time he came in and threatened to kick him out more than once. He would always be back the next week though.

There was the eccentric grandma Josaphine, a 70-year-old woman who would always be seen wearing a purple dress; she would repeatedly clean up the café no matter how many times she was told not to. Perry got more time to read, and Josaphine got a free coffee, so he would never stop her.

And then there was that one guy who wear the same outfit but with a different plaid shirt on top. He would come in every Friday, order the same coffee, and sit with it until closing while he took photos of everyone in the store. Perry would always see that annoying flash from the corner of his eye, then watch that moron grinning while his photos developed. The guy must have taken hundreds during his shifts, and god knows how many he’d taken of Perry. He pretended not to care, but every time he saw that flash, he couldn’t help but check his reflection in the shine of the coffee machine to make sure he looked okay.

It hit 12 o’clock and there he was, without fail, with that stupid grin on his face and that stupid camera around his neck and that stupid flannel shirt. “Can I get a –”

“—Latte, no foam, with 1/3 pump of mocha.” Perry’s voice was flat, as if he were reading from a script.

“Whaa? What makes you think _that’s_ what I want?” The look of pretend bewilderment on his face irked Perry.

“Because that’s the same thing you always order. Do you want it on ice?”

“Why would I if I want the same thing that I always order?” His tone this time was snarky, which irritated Perry even more.

“You don’t drink it hot anyway, so it’ll just save you _time_. It will save me _time_. It will save everyone _time_.” He elongated every instance of the word time, as if to properly demonstrate how much time was being wasted. As the customer he’d spent the longest talking to today, Perry’s patience was already growing shorter with the brunette photographer, and he put it through as iced without waiting for a response.

“Someone’s cranky today.” The guy handed over the exact change – ‘ _he knew he was going to order the same thing, so why is he wasting my time’_ Perry thought to himself as he threw the change in the till without breaking eye-contact then moseyed over to the machine without another word. The two of them stayed silent as they waited for the coffee to brew, and for some reason it felt like the longest silence ever endured, until the sound of that obnoxious shutter made him wish it lasted longer. He handed over the coffee with a spite in his eyes that didn’t need to be backed up with words, and the photographer clearly took the hint as he made the his usual goofy grin before skulking over to his perch in the corner while pulling the film out of his camera with his free hand.

When a guy is trying to give you a hint that he does _not_ want to talk, generally you take the hint and move along. At least, that’s what Perry thought. However, what seemed like the longest, slowest shift in eternity was made even longer by the brunettes repeated attempts to socialise. It started out with a shocking plot twist; as if to thwart the theory that he never finished his drinks, the guy actually finished his coffee, got up and ordered another. Perry was taken aback for a moment; in the year he’d worked here, he’d never ever ordered another coffee before. Perry didn’t even have anything sarcastic prepared to say as he handed over the brew, which was actually hot this time. He just watched as the guy headed back to his post in the corner, feeling a little disappointed by how anticlimactic this turn of events was.

A few other customers came and went, each greeted with the usual clunk of camera guy’s shutter. Perry moved through their orders swiftly, except when Josaphine came in and he took the time to ask how she was doing. Camera guy, however, took this as an invitation for more uncomfortable conversation.

He came back and leaned on the counter with a look of swagger that bothered Perry so much that he didn’t even look up from his book to acknowledge it.

“You know, I’ve come in here every Friday for a year. You never once asked my name. What’s so special about Josaphine?” He gave a jestful sneer at the old lady before smiling at her and snapping her photo mid-sip.  
“She does the job that I don’t want to do. Also, she doesn’t plague my life with the sound of a polaroid shutter that’s now burned so deep into my skull that I hear it every night when I sleep.”

“That’s the most words you’ve strung together into a sentence for me.” Camera guy pretended to blush and his voice quivered as he turned his attention to the film in his camera. “I’m truly touched.”

Perry let out an audible growl. “I _do_ know your name, it’s Camera Guy, and if you don’t go away Camera Guy I’m going to start double charging you for _all_ of your coffees from now on until either the day that you die or _finally_ leave me alone.”

“That’s morbid… what if I order a milkshake instead?”

Perry raised an eyebrow. "Milkshake is triple but if you die right now, I'll give you the next one free as a thank you." The smile on his face was forced, but camera guy stifled a laugh of his own that turned Perry’s smile half-genuine.

“Can I just get another coffee, and I promise I’ll _consider_ leaving you alone?”

“That’s a lot of coffee for a guy who’s never been known to drink more than one room temperature mug a week.”

“I didn’t sleep, which might be the reason I mustered the courage to talk to you today.” He put the change on the counter then turned his attention to his newly developed photo. “It’s probably also the reason my photos are turning out all blurry.” His voice trailed off as he held up the photo of Josaphine that Perry could swear was actually the documentation of an ancient poltergeist.

“Wow, you’re a really bad photographer.” Perry’s eyebrows were raised as he poured steamed milk into what could never be mistaken for latte art. “A year of coming in here, pestering me with that annoying camera, and that’s all you can show for it?”

Ben frowned, clearly taking the comment to heart. “I have more – better ones, I can bring them over and show you if you wa—”  
“Aand I’m all out of fucks to give, sorry Camera Guy but remember that promise? I’d like it to take affect effectively immediately.” He handed over the coffee with a smug smile and turned away to clean the machine. He couldn’t pretend he didn’t feel bad as Camera Guy’s eyes shifted to the ground, and he made a face that was a mix of disappointment and rejection before taking the mug and walking away, but at least if he turned away the guy wouldn’t notice it.

The truth was Perry didn’t have time for friends right now. He was living alone, which meant he had to put in as many hours as possible into the café just to pay rent, and between that and Med School he barely had any time for himself, let alone other people. And if he came across as the bad guy, at least camera guy wouldn’t get his feelings hurt for trying too hard. He also had an inherent fear of maintaining a decent relationship, courtesy of his father. On the whole, the only person that would get hurt was Perry, and he was okay with that.

Because he had to take the shifts he could get, he was working until close today, and the last few hours were excruciatingly long. He tried hard not to notice Camera Guy looking over at him now and then with puppy dog eyes before pointing his camera back out the window as if that’s what he was doing all along. It was sort of endearing, and he appreciated that the sound of the shutter was much less frequent now, but he couldn’t stand how uncomfortable the silence in between was.

After Josaphine left, it was just Perry and Camera Guy, and neither of them could muster the courage to say anything. So, Perry stood at the counter, barely reading his revision books, and Camera Guy looked desperately out the window for someone interesting to take a photo of, neither of them succeeding.

“Hey, I hate to break this comfortable silence.” Perry lied. “But I have to start closing. Do you mind taking a hike?”

“Can I finish my coffee while I wait for my bus? I’ll stay out of your way.” Camera Guy also lied as he held up his empty paper cup, but Perry didn’t know that.

“Eeh, sure, I guess.” The small talk was horrible, but Perry didn’t want to argue so he opted to let him stay, he wasn’t really in the way anyway. Perry just couldn’t suffer the silence anymore, so he put earphones in, turned over the sign on the door to say ‘ _closed’_ and powered through, cleaning every inch of the café as he did most nights. The brunette stole glances every now and then, his gaze staying there for longer than it should, but Perry tried hard to ignore it until the other guy left without a word.

 _Finally._ The silence was comfortable again. Thankfully, he’d cleaned up after himself, and after all the counters had been wiped, everything behind the counter properly put away and the floors swept and mopped, Perry gave a deep sigh and, arms crossed, examined the room. The sun was low in the sky through the large glass front windows and lit up the room in a warm amber glow, which also helped to make sure everything was clean. When he looked over to where Camera Guy was sat, he noticed something glint on the table. ‘ _Probably something that moron left behind._ ’ He thought to himself as he headed over to collect it for him. He didn’t expect to pick it up and see a brilliantly captured photo of himself, mid-stretch, taken while he was cleaning. It was no secret that Perry was not his own fan, in fact he loathed himself, but damn did he look good in this photo. His back was turned, and the sun cast a perfect silhouette across the floor. It was perfectly framed, perfectly shot, and everything about it put shame to the only other photo Camera Guy had shown him. He turned it over to see the name ‘ **Ben** ’ written in thick black marker on the back.


End file.
